How To Travel With Two Different Passports As A Dual Citizen

I am privileged enough to become a dual citizen of the UK and the Philippines.

No, I’m not a spy nor a special agent that has multiple passports and identities (nope, not technically). I can say that I have the best of both worlds (the East and West). My Philippine citizenship is my birthright, and I acquired my British citizenship through naturalisation.

The Philippine law mandates that since I have gained a new citizenship from another country (The UK), my Filipino citizenship was automatically removed. I would have to re-apply to re-claim it. So, I did! You can check my blog post about it from the link below. As for the British law, they let their citizens have multiple nationalities.

When I got the chance to process my dual citizenship, I passed the necessary requirements to have passports from the two countries. I thought this would enable me to have more flexibility travelling.

The British passport is considered as one of the most powerful passports in the world according to passport index; it enables its citizens to travel visa-free or visa-on-arrival in 159 countries in the world. On the other side, the visa fees for the British passport holders can be extortionately pricey.

The Philippine passport holders can enable travel in 61 visa-free countries, the majority in Asia and South America. Moreover, as a Filipino citizen, I am also entitled to the perks that I can have as I mentioned from my previous blog post.

Using two passports with the same identity is legal, as long as your country of citizenship allows you to have dual nationality. This is a clear representation of you as a citizen of your country. The perks of having two passports when you travel can give you an option on which passport will give you more benefit to enter the country of destination.

I’m not suggesting any fraudulent act here, but this is something that people normally get confused or are unsure about. You have to remember to use ONE passport to enter and exit one country. Make sure to do some research regarding the dual passport rules of the country you will be visiting.

I will share with you on how I travelled around Asia using my British and Philippine passports.

Here’s how you can use two different passports when you travel:

I used my British passport to leave the UK so I can establish my right to legally live in the country without asking for any visas or residence permit at the border.

Port of Arrival: PhilippinesPassport used: British

British passport holders are allowed to stay in the Philippines for 30 days (visa-free). Since I am considered as “Balikbayan”, the Philippine Immigration gave me a one year stay in the Philippines without needing a visa.

Port of Departure: PhilippinesPassport used: British

Next stop, Cambodia.

Airline desk: I showed my Philippine passport to prove that I can enter Cambodia visa free. I also showed my British passport that I used to enter the Philippines so they can waive my Philippine Travel Tax. As technically, I’m a British citizen in the Philippines.

PH Immigration: I showed my British passport as this was the passport that I used to enter the Philippines.

I used my Philippine passport to enter these three countries to establish travel history, and of course, Philippine passport holders are visa-free in these countries.

In Malaysia, having dual citizenship is strictly regulated. Hence, I want to make sure that they can see my travel history in my Philippine passport.

I also give my Philippine passport on the immigration and airline desks when I departed these countries.

Port of Arrival: SingaporePassport used: British

Singapore Immigration: Singapore is a visa-free country for Philippine and British passport holders. However, I used my British passport to avoid further questioning and delay in Singapore like what happened before when I used my Philippine passport when I first visited the country in 2011. Using my British passport, Singapore Immigration gave me a 90-day pass.

Port of Departure: SingaporePassport used: British

I used my British passport because this was the passport that I have used to enter Singapore.

Port of Arrival: PhilippinesPassport used: British

I used again my British passport to enter the Philippines. I got a 1-year Balikbayan stamp that enables me to stay in the Philippines for one year instead of 30 days only.

Note: If you are travelling with your spouse with a foreign (Non-Philippine) passport, you should come together at the PH Immigration desk. So your spouse can also enjoy the Balikbayan privileges to stay in the Philippines for one-year visa-free.

Port of Departure: PhilippinesPassport used: British

Airline desk: I gave my British passport to show that I am eligible to live and enter the UK without having any permit or visas.

Immigration Officer: I showed my British passport because this is the one I’ve used to enter the Philippines.

Port of Arrival: Dubai, UAEPassport used: British

I used my British passport to visit Dubai for my connecting flight. Philippine passport holders would require securing a visa prior to entering Dubai.

I also used my British passport on my way back to catch my next flight back to the UK.

Port of Arrival: UKPassport used: British

Home Sweet Home.

Always remember to use the same passport upon entering and exiting the country to avoid trouble and confusion.

Some people would argue that it is pointless to get a second passport when you already have the “powerful passport”, in this case, the British passport. Having a Dual Nationality is a special privilege so why not use it to your advantage especially when you are travelling and save yourself some extra cash and hassle.

Are you also a dual citizen? Share us your travel experience when travelling with two different passports.

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About The Author

She is named after a Russian city near Moscow. The Miss Zan-shine of Everything Zany. She likes to travel, history, meet people & try exotic foods! Planning to explore more countries with her D.I.Y trips as a Dual Citizen (British – Filipina). Explore, discover and learn.

I’m a British passport holder and I agree we are incredibly fortunate to have visa-free access to such a wealth of countries. How this will change within Europe now we have shot ourselves in the foot and voted to leave the EU, I don’t know. If I could get a second passport, I would opt for a Canadian one, cos who doesn’t love a Canadian?

That’s pretty cool to be able to use two passports. Some of the visa fees are ridiculously much as I love India I’ve vowed not to go back for now as I refuse to pay over £150 for entry. It’s ridiculous

I did not know Philippines alowed dual citizenship. Yes, British passport is one of the “Golden” passport that allow free travel to majority of countries. I guess having a dual passport is definitely a privilege accorded to a fraction of the world citizens 🙂

That is a very interesting post. I have a dual citizenship too Greek and Australian but I haven’t used them both yet as I didn’t have to. Your post gave me many ideas on how to use my dual citizenship and benefit

Hi, I have dual citizenship, Filipino and British, and I am traveling from Cayman Islands to USA on my Philippines passport with BI/B2 VISA. My next flight going to Philippines is via Paris and Amsterdam then Taipei. I don’t have a transit VISA for France and Amsterdam. What passport do I have to use leaving the USA and leaving Philippines on my flight back? Thanks in advance on your assistance on this.

Hi Francis, As what I have mentioned in the blog post, use one passport for entering and leaving the destination country. In your case, I think you’ll be ok just using your British passport. I’m not sure why you bothered using your PH passport with the visa if your British passport will let you into the US just by online registration in ESTA.

The only thing here is the PH travel tax, once you entered the Philippines using your PH passport, you have to pay for the PH travel tax when you leave the country.

It is great to have two passports and the perks that come with it. It makes me wonder though about taxes. Does the Philippines requires you to file your “foreign” income and tax you accordingly? If you enter the countries with your Philippine passport, you are entering as a Filipino citizen. In times of consular needs or assistance, can you bank on the Philippine government to bail you out?

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ABOUT ME

Hi! I'm Ryazan! The Miss ZAN-shine behind this blog. I'm a dual citizen (British - Filipina) living in the UK. I share stories and helpful tips about the best of both worlds.

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